Aztec Weaponry Demonstration – Discovery Channel

Today I’d like to share a video clip I came across that shows a portion of a Discovery Channel special. In it, they explore effectiveness of several traditional Aztec weapons and compare them to their closest Spanish analogues. Most interesting are the sequences where they demonstrate the obsidian-bladed sword-club, the maquahuitl (also spelled macuahuitl) and the sling. A particularly nice little surprise about this episode is that Dr. Frances Berdan speaks a bit about the maquahuitl. If you’re wondering why I’m highlighting that, it’s because she’s a significant scholar of Mesoamerican studies. What has she done for you lately, you ask? Well, you might want to thank her and Dr. Anawalt for the current definitive edition of the Codex Mendoza, for starters.